Warning! Spoilers ahead for The Last of Us!While fans everywhere are speculating on the future of The Last of Us live-action adaptation, there’s a story that absolutely deserves to be brought to life. So far, the show has been a smash success among critics and audiences, with many praising the performances of the actors, as well as bringing the franchise’s most harrowing and emotional moments to life.
The Last of Us: American Dreams Takes Fans Back to the Beginning
A Forgotten Piece of Ellie's History Shines in a Four-Issue Limited Series
Back in 2013, just a few months before the first Last of Us game was officially released, Dark Horse Comics collaborated with Neil Druckmann, the game’s creative director, to create a prequel series to the game. The Last of Us: American Dreams comes from Druckmann, as well as Faith Erin Hicks, Clem Robins, and Rachelle Rosenberg and is set roughly a year before Ellie’s adventure with Joel begins. Ellie is still living at her government-run boarding school, and she’s already getting into fights with bullies before meeting the girl who’d become Ellie's best friend: Riley Abel.
Riley and Ellie sneak out one night when they catch wind of a group of Fireflies spotted nearby, and they decide to check them out. However, the Fireflies are under attack and heavily outnumbered. Riley and Ellie assist the rebels and nearly get caught by the military. While the duo are able to escape the military, they run headfirst into a swarm of infected and are nearly bitten by the creatures. They avoid being bitten, but Ellie and Riley wind up captured by the Fireflies.
The Fireflies let the girls go and Marlene promises to tell Ellie more later.
While held captive by the Fireflies, the girls meet the rebels’ leader, Marlene, who recognizes Ellie. Things get a little tense when Riley demands to join the Fireflies, leading to a standoff between Marlene and Riley. However, Ellie diffuses the situation and discovers that Marlene knew Ellie’s mother. The Fireflies let the girls go and Marlene promises to tell Ellie more later. Riley and Ellie share a moment when they realize that there’s no way of getting out of the quarantine without dying and head back to their boarding school.
The Last of Us Show is Heading in Unexpected Directions
It's Following the Games, But Viewers are Already Starting to Get Antsy
HBO’s live-action adaptation of The Last of Us has done a superb job of capturing the main story beats of the first game and the first half of the second game. Not only have actors like Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey done an amazing job selling the complex but relatable relationship between Joel and Ellie, but the entire cast does an amazing job. Not to mention, the work done with the infected has been top-notch, both in how they look and the gripping and tense survival scenes.
However, things have started to take a turn with the most recent season, especially how closely it adheres to particularly controversial elements. After all, it didn’t shy away from killing Joel in the second season’s second episode. Not to mention the show’s decision to follow the game's flipped perspective. Just like how The Last of Us Part II switched from Ellie’s storyline to Abby’s midway, the show ended with a flashback that set up the new season to follow Abby’s storyline. It’s a hard pill for many to swallow.
One of the things that fans loved about the show was Joel and Ellie.
One of the things that fans loved about the show was Joel and Ellie. And the sad truth is that without Joel on the show, fans unfamiliar with the games really miss his presence. The show has done what it can with Ellie, focusing on her relationships with her allies and new mission to avenge Joel. However, with a new season likely to focus more on Abby with little Ellie and no Joel, it may very well be difficult for Last of Us fans to get onboard with what comes next.
An American Dreams Episode Could Be a Welcome Change of Pace
Take Fans Back in Time Before Going Forward
While everything seems like The Last of Us’ third season is set up to go on without Ellie, that doesn’t mean she has to be gone entirely. After all, the show has done flashback and one-off episodes before. Season one’s “Long, Long Time” was a dramatic expansion of a downplayed storyline from the game, and it was considered one of the best episodes in the season. And as mentioned earlier, The Last of Us Left Behind was turned into a flashback episode that greatly expanded on Ellie and Riley’s relationship.
Of course, episodes like this can interrupt the flow of drama, as season two’s “The Price” was largely comprised of flashbacks in the five years between seasons. It was a great episode, sure, but it was right before the finale and arguably robbed the buildup before the season ended. That being said, it wouldn’t be the worst idea to adapt The Last of Us: American Dreams into an episode for season 3. Not only could it ensure that Ellie is seen next season, but give viewers an episode that reminds them of how far this show has come.
...it’d be a mistake to eschew Ellie completely.
The show has already committed to jumping back and forth with the timeline and, while Abby might get her time in the limelight next season, it’d be a mistake to eschew Ellie completely. Adapting American Dreams would be a great way to keep her involved in the show until Abby’s story is completed. After all, she’s changed a lot since her days living in the quarantine zone, and an episode that pulls from an underrated could really show off how things have changed for The Last of Us’ star character.
